Steam-engine.



M. E. NEAL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED Auazi. 19H

1 ,276, 68 1 I Patented Aug. 20, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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i i/hm M. E. NEAL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FlLED'AUG-ZI. 1911.

Patented Aug. 20, 1918.

f}SHEETSSHEET 2.

ON I. v QM M. E. NEAL.

STEAM ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED Aus.27. 1911.

1,276,681. w Patented Aug. 20, 1918.

'4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- onnrs EDGAR NEAL, or WELLINGTON, KANSAS.

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Specification of Letters Patent. Paitguted A11". 20, 1918;

Application filed August 27, 1917. Serial No. 188,445.

To all who-m it'mag concern Be it known that I, Monnrs EDGAR NEAL,

a citizen of the United States, residing at W ellington, in the county of Sumner and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-En; gines; and I do declare th following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same;

The objects of the present invention are toimprove upon steam engines to the extent of providing a lever between the crank shaft and the piston with said piston carried on one end of said lever, and to devise a unique valve and controlstherefor for alternately placing the opposed ends of the cylinder in communication with the steam chest and the exhaust.

"With the foregoing-general objects in view, the invention resides in certain novel features of construction and in unique coinbinations of parts to be hereinafter fully de-- scribed and claimed, the descriptive matter being supplemented-by the accompanying drawings which constitute a part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a side elevation ofthe improved engine; 7

' Fig. 2 is a vertical section throughthe cylinder, the piston and the'lever-on which said piston is mounted; Fig. 3 a side elevation with the steam chest, the valve and parts of the control of the latter in section;

Fig. l is avertical transverse section on the plane of the line %l:il: of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the manner of operating thevalve by handto drive the engine in either direction;

In specifically describing the structure shown in the drawings above briefly described, similar characters will be employed to designate correspondingparts throughout the several views and reference will be here-in made to the numerous elements by their respective indices. numeral 1 designates the base of the im'-' proved engine, 2 the crank shaft, 3 the fly wheel, 4 the reciprocating cross head, 5 the connecting rod between said cross head and crank shaft 2, and 6 the operating rod for said cross'head. These parts may be ofthe usual or any preferred construction and the To this end, the

construction thereof constitutes no the present invention.

A flat upright casing 7 is mounted on the base 1 said casing being of circular formation and having an arcuate cylinder 8 near its periphery and formed concentric with the axis of the casing 7 a rock shaft 9 being mounted on this axis as shown. The ends of the cylinder 8 are preferably formed by abutments 10 having packing shoes 11 engaging the peripheral surfaces of a pair of arcuate wear plates 12 which are bolted or otherwise secured to angular arms 13, said arms constituting one end of a power multi-' partof plying lever 14 which is keyed on the shaft 9, the operating rod 6 being connected to the other end of said lever.

A piston anchoring plate 15 isinterposed between the inner ends of the wear plates 12 and the latter are deta'chably connected with the former by any suitable means such as machine screws 16. The piston 17 is dis posed in the cylinder 8 and is secured to the plate 15 by a machine screw 18 or by other suitable means. the construction shown and described the plates 12 will normally close the open inner side of the cylinder S and when worn to such an extent'as to cause leakage of steam, the screws 16 and the other means for securing said plates in place may be removed whereupon new plates may be substituted. At each end of the cylinders is-a com bined inlet and exhaust port 19 and pipes 20 lead llZOInStUCl ports into opposed points at the lower side of acircular steam chest 21,

which loosely receives the shaft 9, said shaft being equipped with an arm 26 extending between the arms 24 and equipped with a hammer head 27.

Spring pro ected latches 28 are carried on the outer ends ofthe arms-24 for c06pera tion with sockets 29 in the peripheral wall of' the chest 21, said latches being connected to hell cranks 30 which are fulcrumed onsaid arms 2%. Each bell crank 30 is provided lid with an operating pin 31, these pins projecting inwardly through. the arms 24 in the path of the hammer head 27. lhus, as steam is admitted into one end of the cylinder 8, the piston 17 is moved toward the other end thereof and as said piston nears the end of its stroke, the hammer head 27 strikes the pin 31 of the active latch 28, thus releasing said latch through the instrumentality of its respective crank 30. Further turning of the shaft 9 will now cause the arm 26 to reverse the position of the valve 2 thus cutting off the supply of steam into one of the ports 22 and permitting steam to enter the other port The result is that the direction of travel of the piston 17 will be reversed. This operation takes place successively as long as the engine is in use and the latches 2S automatically engage the sockets or keepers 29 to hold the valve 23 in operative position after each movement thereof.

l l hen the entrance of steam into either port is obstructed by one arm or the other of the valve 23, said port is placed in communication with the space between said arms and an exhaust pipe 32 leads from this space as shown. A suitable steam pipe 33 communicates with the chest 21 at an 7 suit able pointoutside of the arms 2i, said pipe being preferably equipped with a valve 8i by means of which the passage of steam therethrough may be increased, decreased or entirely out ofii.

An ear 35 formed integrally with and rises from the bearing 25 of the valve 23, said ear having a slot and pin connection at 36 with the inner end of a reverse rod 37 which is of tubular formation throughout the greater part of its length, said rod being pivoted at its outer end to the lower end of a vertically disposed reverse lever 38 which is fulcrumed at 39 to a bracket 40, the latter being shown in the present embodiment of the invention as bolted to the steam chest 21. A rack ll is mounted on the upper end of the bracket a0 and cooperates with a pawl d2 on the lever 88 to lock said lever in its central or inactive position. Pawl Qiis connected by a wire or the like l3 with a small release lever n which is fulcrumed to the upper end of the reverse lever 38. When the pawl 42 is released, the reverse rod 87 may be shifted to reverse the position of the valve 2-", provided the active latch 28 is first released, and for the purpose of releasing either latch simultaneously with the releasing of the pawl, l employ a rather unique arrangement of parts.

A bell crank a5 is fulcrumed to the lower end of the reverse lever 38 and by means of a rod or the like 116 said bell crank is con nected with the release lever dd to be rocked by movement of the latter. l lt- 47 the bell crank l5 has a sliding connection witha latch releasing rod 48 which extends slidably ars er through the tubular reverse rod 37, a spring %9 being secured at one end to said rod d8 and bearing at its other end against an internal shoulder on the reverse rod to normally hold said rod as in operative position. The inner end of rod as carries a pair of depending shoulders 50 adapted to be brought into contact with the upper ends of a pair of levers 51 which are fulcrumed between their ends to the arms 24. The lower end of one lever 51 is connected slidably with one of the bell cranks 30 while an additional bell crank 52 is interposed between the other lever 51 and the other crank 30.

By the arrangement of parts just described the engine may be driven in either direction. llhen the pawl 42 is released by means of the lever l i, the bell crank so will be simultaneously rocked, thus shifting the rod d8 within 37 against the tension of spring d9. This brings the shoulders 50 against the upper ends of the levers 51 and rocks them with the result that the active latch 28 will be released. When the steam is turned on at valve 3 1-, should the engine start in the reverse direction from that. required, the reverse lever 38 may be shifted to reverse the position of the valve (see Fig. 6) and then returned to the normal position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. This reverses the direction of travel of the steam from the chest 21 and consequently drives the piston 17 in the di rection to reverse the movement of the engine. From the construction shown, it might seem that upon release of the latches 29, an attempt to reverse the valve would permit reengagement of these latches with the sockets 29 before movement of said valve would take place, but to prevent this, it is simply necessary to force the lever is toward lever 38 to the required extent to retain the latches retracted a suit-able time.

From the foregoing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it will be observed that although the invention is comparatively simple, it will be highly efficient and durable, the machine being capable of developing high power at a minimum speed due to the leverage exerted on the crank shaft from the piston 17 through the instrumentality of lever 1st and the connections between this lever and said shaft.

Un account of the advantages above pointed out the construction shown and described constitutes the preferred form of the improved en 'ine, but it is to be understood that within the scope of. the invention as claimed, numerous changes may be made without sacrificing the principal advantages.

l claim:

l. A steam engine comprising a rock shaft, a lever secured between its ends on said rock shaft, a piston secured on one end of said lover, a power transmitting rod connected to the other end thereof, an arcuate cylinder i steam chest and in which the piston is mounted, the are of said cylinder being concentric with the shaft, combined inlet and exhaust passages at the ends of said cylinder, a steam chest through which said shaft passes, a steam inlet for said chest, an exhaust, and a valve operated by and mounted on the aforesaid shaft for alternately placing said passages in communication'with the chest and exhaust, said valve being located in said chest.

2. A steam engine comprising a rock shaft, a lever secured between its ends on said rock shaft, a piston secured on one end of said lever, a power transmitting rod connected to the other end thereof, an arcuate cylinder in which the piston is mounted, the arc of said cylinder being concentric with the shaft, combined inlet and exhaust passages at the ends of said cylinder, a steam chest through which said rock shaft passes and with which the aforesaid passages communicate, a valve mounted loosely on said rock shaft in said including a pair of spaced arms to be alternately moved to opposite sides of said passages, an exhaust fromthe portion of the chest between said arms, and out of communication with the remainder of the chest, a steam inlet for said chest, and an arm projecting rigidly from the shaft between the arms of said valve for alternately shifting the latter from one position to another.

3. A steam engine comprising a lever secured between its ends on said rock shaft, a piston secured on one end of said lever, a power transmitting rod connected to the other end thereof, an arcuate cylinder in which the piston is mounted, said cylinder being concentric with said rock shaft and receiving said piston therein, combined inlet and exhaust passages at the ends of said cylinder, a steam chest through which said rock shaft passes and with which the aforesaid passages communicate, a valve mounted loosely on the shaft in said steam chest and including a pair of spaced arms to be alternately moved to opposite sides of said passages, an exhaust from the portion of the chest between said arms and out of communication with the remainder of the chest, a steam inlet for said chest, automatically applied latches for holding the valve in one position or the other, releases for said latches disposed on the arms of the valve, and a hammer projecting from the shaft be tween said arms and adapted to strike said releases and to then move the valve as said rock shaft oscillates.

l. The combination with a cylinder, a piston therein, combined inlet and exhaust passages at the opposite ends of said cylinder, and a shaft rocked to and fro by said piston; of asteam chest into which said shaft projects, said chest having a wall concentric to said shaft and having ports with which said a rock shaft,

passages communicate, a valve in said steam chest mounted loosely on the shaft and having a pair of arms adapted to be alternately positioned on opposite sides of said'ports, an exhaust from the portion of the chest between said arms, a steam inlet for said chest, and a rigid arm projecting from the shaft between the arms of the valve to strike said arms and shiftsaid valve from one position to another as the shaft oscillates.

5. The combination with a cylinder, a piston therein, combined inlet and exhaust passages at the opposite ends of said cylinder, and a shaft rocked said piston; of a steam chest into which said shaft projects, said chest having a wall concentric to said shaft and having ports with which said passages communicate, a valve in said steam chest mounted loosely on the shaft and having a pair of arms adapted to be alternately positioned on opposite sides of said ports, an exhaust from the portion of the chest between said arms, a steaminlet for said chest, latches for holding said valve in one position or the other, releases for said latches disposed on the arms of the valve, and a hammer extending from the shaft between-the arms of the-valve, said hammer being adapted to strike said releases and to then shift the valve.

6. The combination with the oscillating shaft of a steam engine and a steam chest into which said shaft extends, said chest having a wall concentric to said shaft and having a pair of ports for supplying steam to and receiving it from the engine; of a valve loosely mounted on said shaft in the steam chest and having a pair of arms to be alternately moved to opposite sides of said ports, latches for rocking said valve in one position or the other, releases for said latches disposed on said arms, a hammer extending from the shaft between said arms and adapted to strike said releases and to then move said valve from one position to the other, operating levers connected with said latches and extending to points adjacent the shaft, a tubular reverse rod sliding through the wall of the steam chest and having a sliding connection with the valve, and a second rod sliding through the other and having means for engagement with the aforesaid levers to permit manual release of the latches.

7. The combination with the steam chest of an engine, a movable valve therein, and latch means fOr holding said valve in its different positions; of a reverse rod extending through the wall of the steam chest and operatively associated with the valve, and a second rod extending into said steam chest for releasing the locking means manually to permit reversing of the valve.

8. The combination with the steam chest of an engine, an oscillating valve therein,

to and fro "by and means for locking said valve in its di1tferent positions; of a tubular reverse rod sliding through the vvall oi' the chest and operativelv associated with the valve, and a second rod sliding through said tubular rod for releasing the locking means manually.

9; The combination vvith the steam chest of an engine, movable valve in said chest, and latch means for locking said valve in its different positions; of a reverse rod 09- e at-lively associated with said valve and extending through the Wall vof the chest, releasing; members for said latch means.

said members being carried by the valve,

and a second rod slidable through the wall of the chest and having means on its inner end for engagement with said rel asing members. i

10. The combination with the steam chest of an engine and a movable alve therein; of means for locking said valve in its different I positions, means for releasing said locking means manually from the exterior of the chest, means for reversiingthe valve from the exterior of the chest, lockingmeans for said reversing means, releasing means for this locking means, and connections between said lastnamed releasing means and the first named releasing mean 11. The combination with the steam chest oi? an engine and a movable valve therein,

of means for locking said valve in its dit flames ortliia patent may be obtained for c nts eo ferent positions, a rod for releasing said locking means fron'i the exterior of the chest, a reversing rod for the valve likewise extending to the exterior oi" the chest, a lever pivoted to said reversing rod, a looking device for said lever, a second lever fulerinned to the other for releasing said looking device, a third lever fulcrumed to the firstnamed lever and connected with the first named rod, and means connecting said second and third named levers.

The combination with the steam chest of an engine and a movable valve therein, of a tubular reverse rod for said valve, means for locking said valve in its different positions, a release rod sliding through said reverse rod for releasing said locking means nmnnallv from the exterior of the chest, a reverse lever pivoted to said reverse rod, a locking device for said reverse lever, a second lever fnlcrmned to said reverse lever ior releasing said locking device, a third lever .t'lilcrin'ned, to said reverse lever and connected with said release rod, and means ecnnectingsaid second and third levers.

in testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

IiiORlllS EDGAR NEAL. El i tnessesi llsi'. H. Beans L. P. Jnrnn.

by addressing the. Commissioner of fi l! Til 

